Ginal Layouts and a Bonus Silent Issue by Larry Hama and Joe Benitez! Includes G.I

G.I. JOE: SILENT INTERLUDE 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION presents the story that deﬁned a generation—G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #21, the famous SILENT INTERLUDE story by Larry Hama and Steve Leialoha. This wordless issue introduced the world to SNAKE EYE’s mysterious nemesis STORM SHADOW and his ARASHIKAGE NINJA—and essays by Mark Bellomo oﬀer a look into the inspiration and creation of this comic book classic. Plus—an unprecedented glimpse of Larry Hama’s original layouts and a bonus silent issue by Larry Hama and Joe Benitez! Includes G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #21 and G.I. JOE: ORIGINS #19. www.idwpublishing.com • $19.99 G.I. Joe: A ReAl AmeRIcAn HeRo #21: “SIlent InteRlude” StoRy And BReAkdownS By lARRy HAmA FInISHeS By Steve leIAloHA coloRS By GeoRGe RouSSoS G.I. Joe: A ReAl AmeRIcAn HeRo #21: “SIlent InteRlude” oRIGInAl BReAkdownS BReAkdownS By lARRy HAmA G.I. Joe oRIGInS #19: SnAke eyeS StoRy And lAyoutS By lARRy HAmA PencIlS By Joe BenItez InkS By vIctoR llAmAS coloRS By J. BRown IntRoductIon By mARk Bellomo ISSue noteS By mARk Bellomo And lARRy HAmA collectIon coveR By ed HAnnIGAn, klAuS JAnSon, And Romulo FAJARdo JR. oRIGInAl edItS By denny o’neIl, Andy ScHmIdt, And cARloS GuzmAn collectIon edItS By cARloS GuzmAn collectIon deSIGn By cHRIS mowRy Special thanks to Hasbro’s Ed Lane, Joe Furfaro, Heather Hopkins, and Michael Kelly for their invaluable assistance ISBN: 978-1-63140-035-3 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 Ted Adams, CEO & Publisher Facebook: facebook.com/idwpublishing Greg Goldstein, President & COO Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist Twitter: @idwpublishing Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief YouTube: youtube.com/idwpublishing Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Alan Payne, VP of Sales Instagram: instagram.com/idwpublishing Dirk Wood, VP of Marketing deviantART: idwpublishing.deviantart.com www.IDWPUBLISHING.com Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services IDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins Jeff Webber, VP of Digital Publishing & Business Development Pinterest: pinterest.com/idwpublishing/idw-staff-faves G.I. JOE: SILENT INTERLUDE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. JUNE 2014. FIRST PRINTING. HASBRO and its logo, G.I. JOE, and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2014 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA 92109. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork. Originally published by Marvel Comics as G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #21 and by IDW as G.I. JOE: ORIGINS #19. IntRoductIon Before discussing the contents of G.I. Joe: A Real American This two-issue diversion begs the question: If G.I. Joe was Hero #21 (hereafter, the title will be referred to as RAH), we so popular—one of Marvel’s best-selling books of the must frame that epic story upon what was taking place in 1980’s*—then why have two consecutive issues that the G.I. Joe canon at the time—with a quick nod to Marvel essentially disrupted the major plot of the book for a few Comics’ policy in the early 1980’s. You see, following the months during the franchise’s heyday? In retrospect, events of issue #19 (“Joe Triumphs!”), which resolved a producing “Silent Interlude” was forgivable (even number of sub-plots (e.g., the death of a number of major warranted), but #20 feels blatantly out of place. An odd characters; the conclusion of a Cobra plot to ferret out the issue to print, since G.I. Joe was by all accounts a location to G.I. Joe Headquarters), and before the threads of powerhouse with no hints of slowing down way back in the major plot of RAH were again picked up with issue #22 1984. (“Like Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust…”), there was an interruption to the omnipresent, overarching narrative of The answer? Unfortunately, oftentimes the creative teams the war between the G.I. Joe team and Cobra Command. on comic book titles would fall behind—an entirely Issue #20 (“Home is Where the War Is!”) and #21 were unacceptable situation for publishers who had only twelve stand-alone issues: the first focused on the Joes’ chances per year to collect revenue from the consumer. So transportation specialist, Clutch, and was written by Marvel had instituted what is commonly referred to as an substitute scribe Steven Grant and illustrated by penciller “inventory system,” where creators would get paid to Geof Isherwood—two contributors unfamiliar with the deliver filler issues to their editors; self-contained one-shot characters and the fundamental narrative; the second (or two-issue) tales that were outside of established featured the introduction of Snake Eyes’ sword brother, the continuity that could be utilized when a book’s creative Cobra Ninja known as Storm Shadow—a character that we team fell behind—which was inevitable. As explained by now know so well. Both issues took the reader away from Hama: “Marvel needed to publish 12 monthly issues per the title’s greater plot. title per year. If the writers or artists missed a deadline, the publisher would be screwed. [In the past] They usually would fish out an old issue and publish a re-print—a re-run of a former issue. Jim Shooter instituted an ‘inventory story’ system. They would hire comic teams to produce self- contained stories (1 or 2 issues) that could be plunked in with little or no work to make up the distance. Inventory stories have fallen out of favor in comic book circles since, but the practice is still sound.” However, these inventory issues were incentive for some writers or writer/artists to bank an extra issue or two (or three, or even four) a year—and get paid for something that would never see print. Some writers deliberately sabotaged these inventory issues by incorporating elements of plot or character that would become immediately outdated upon production, affording them the opportunity to create a bonus issue for which they would receive compensation, yet ensuring the tale would never see the light of day.** RAH issue #20 was one of these fillers/inventory issues which allowed G.I. Joe’s creative team to play catch up. Yet, as previously mentioned, if editor Denny O’Neil utilized issue #20 just one or two years after it was created, the tale’s protagonist, Clutch, would have been featured in a different outfit (in his tan-and-brown uniform),and found driving the desert-themed VAMP Mark II instead of his standard ride, the VAMP Jeep, while the cast of supporting G.I. Joe team members featured in that issue (Doc, Grunt, etc.) would be rendered obsolete—cycled out of Hasbro’s retail toy releases. If O’Neil had waited until 1985-86 to plug Cover Artwork for G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #20. the story into RAH continuity, instead of Doc being used as the G.I. Joe Medic, the editor had to ensure that the Joes’ new Rescue Trooper, Lifeline, was incorporated into the book. In place of Hawk barking orders, the Joes’ new honcho could render a narrative that was a total, complete story— in the field became Duke. In lieu of Flash, we’d be treated to with a solid beginning, distinct middle, and end… with Sci-Fi, the Joes’ replacement Laser Trooper. conflict and characterization, quick action, and a strong resolution—without using balloons or captions or sound Regardless, “Home is Where the War Is!” afforded Larry effects. I felt that Marvel was going crazy with captions and Hama the opportunity to get his creative juices flowing once word balloons at the time and I wanted to go the other way again as both a writer and an artist. It is worth mentioning with it.” that during his lengthy tenure at Marvel Comics, when members of the Marvel Bullpen were starved for ideas re: Hama never seemed concerned about rendering character, comic book covers, many times they approached Larry because in his comics—and from his perspective— Hama, who would quickly render cover sketches for their characters took care of themselves. According to Hama, he books during his lunch hour—sometimes concocting three never wrote one tale within his 155-issue run with a plot set or four covers over the course of eating a sandwich. Hama ahead of time. He simply knew the characters, felt the plotted breakdowns and covers for his own RAH title as well, characters, and explored them (or allowed them to explore which kept his skills as a penciller honed razor sharp. Marvel themselves) within a specific context: Hama never knew by Zombies the world over recognize that Hama possessed what means a plot would end. Exactly how they reacted to artistic talent as well: his earliest work appeared in high- a certain situation is how he rendered their character. This profile magazines such as Esquire and Rolling Stone even philosophy adds to the organic nature of character; before he broke into the underground comic movement. predetermination doesn’t work. Using Hama’s method, a Yet ultimately, Hama landed work as the featured penciller writer shouldn’t be thinking, “Hmm… What happens next?” for a series of Iron Fist tales in Marvel Premiere.

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